Rare light: J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882-1919

177 Pages·2016·490.067 MB·English

by  Dawson, Anne Elizabeth;Weir, Julian Alden

rare light
A Driftless ConneCtiCut series Book
This book is a 2016 selection in the Driftless Connecticut Series,
for an outstanding book in any field on a Connecticut topic
or written by a Connecticut author.
J. AlDen Weir
in Windham, Connecticut, 1882–1919
Edited by Anne E. Dawson
With essays by Charles Burlingham, Jr.,
Rachel Carley, and Jamie H. Eves
Wesleyan University Press | Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan University Press Library of Congress
Middletown CT 06459 Cataloging-in-Publication Data
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
© 2016 Wesleyan University Press Rare light: J. Alden Weir in Windham,
All rights reserved Connecticut, 1882–1919 / edited by Anne E.
Manufactured in the Dawson; with essays by Charles Burlingham, Jr.,
United States of America Rachel Carley, and Jamie H. Eves.
Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill   pages  cm
Typeset in Fanwood Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8195-7617-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)—
The Driftless Connecticut Series is funded by the ISBN 978-0-8195-7618-7 (ebook)
Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund 1. Weir, Julian Alden, 1852–1919—
at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Criticism and interpretation.
2. Weir, Julian Alden, 1852–1919—Homes
and haunts—Connecticut—Windham.
3. Windham (Conn.)—History.
4. Windham (Conn.)—In art. I. Dawson,
Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth), 1956– editor.
ND237.W4R37 2016
759.13—dc23    2015026787
5 4 3 2 1
Cover illustration: J. Alden Weir, The Shadow of
My Studio, Windham, c. 1890–1910.
Oil on canvas, 30 1/4 x 25 1/4. Private Collection.
this Book WAs mADe possiBle By the generous support of
The Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Charles Burlingham, Jr.
The Connecticut State University Chapter
of the American Association of University Professors
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Weir Farm National Historic Site
[B]ut still I hope by this hour the clouds have all dispersed & the bright new
quarter of the moon that is now shining is visible also at dear old Windham.
Oh, how I would like to be there to walk with you through the large old trees
that stand like sentinels in the ancient homestead of the Taintors. Still, I will
hope before long to enjoy . . . those lovely walks & watch the long & pale
shadows, varied by the different forms of the cedars & the pines, while the
rare light of tiny little stars will cause the moonlight to be less wonderful.
J. AlDen Weir to AnnA DWight BAker, mAy 23, 1882
Contents
Preface Anne E. Dawson ix
Acknowledgments Anne E. Dawson xiii
List of Abbreviations xvii
one Family Stories Charles Burlingham, Jr. 1
tWo J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882–1919 
Anne E. Dawson  9
three Eastern Connecticut Landscapes and the Environment, 1882–1919:
The Pastoral as Middle Ground Jamie H. Eves 91
four A House Unlocked: The History of the Baker-Weir Homestead 
Rachel Carley 119
Selected Works Painted by Weir while Residing in Windham 137
Bibliography 141
Contributors 147
Index 149

prefACe
Anne E. Dawson
This book is the result of fortuitous coincidence that introduced me to the fas-
cinating and largely untold story of J. Alden Weir’s personal and creative life in
Windham, Connecticut. In the fall of 2009, my friend and colleague Elizabeth
Peterson, then director of Eastern Connecticut State University’s Akus Gallery,
brought to my attention the fact that the famous American Impressionist painter
had lived and worked in Windham and was buried in the Windham Center
Cemetery, located only a few miles from the university. As I began to investigate
the topic, I soon realized that Weir’s relationship with Windham was a fasci-
nating and multilayered story that few people in the town —  or Connecticut at
large —  knew about. And, while a number of American Impressionist scholars
understood the importance of Windham for Weir’s career, the full story had yet
to be told. My preliminary Weir research led me to discover other important
histories about this region that merited study. Willimantic, home of the uni-
versity where I teach, and now a component of Windham, was once one of the
most important industrial centers in the world. Windham Center —  which I had
traveled through, and admired, for many years on my commute to campus — w as
home to residents who played a vital role in the history of early America. The
whole of Windham Center, filled with wonderful historic houses and a charming
village green, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Yet the social
and architectural history of this important place had not been appropriately